Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Great moments are born by great opportunities and the Huskies were given a great opportunity last Saturday. In the 4th quarter against the California Golden Bears Washington's offense had 4:39 seconds to keep their bowl hopes alive. Senior Quarter Back Jake Locker was just the guy to lead them on the most incredible drive of his career.

The Huskies needed a Field Goal to tie and a touchdown to win. The drive started out great. The Huskies moved the changes for the first time on third and short when running back Chris Polk was lined up in the Wildcat formation and got the first down. After that Jake Locker went up top to Jermaine Kearse for a 46 yard completion to get the Huskies into Field Goal range at the 20 yard line.

Steve Sarkisian was not going for the tie. He was going for the win. After a few runs, Washington was set up with second and goal from the 1. After two unsuccessful quarter back sneaks Washington called a timeout with two seconds to go. The Huskies were going for the win.

Washington on 4th and the season handed the ball off to Chris Polk who scampered into the end zone for a 1 yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 16-13 win. With the Apple Cup on Saturday Washington will just have to take this game seriously. The Huskies are the superior team in all three phases of the game which should give then an advantage during the game.

The biggest thing was the Husky defense is playing amazing right now. The defense hasn't allowed a touchdown in seven quarters. Which is a compliment to Defensive coordinator Nick Holt who is having his guys playing inspired defense at the right time of the year.

The Huskies just have to win one more game to go to a bowl, which hasn't happened for the Huskies since 2002. If Washington wants to go to bowl, they will have to beat arch rival Washington State. The Cougars record is 2-9 but are coming off a 31-14 to Oregon State and are going to give their best effort for the 103rd addition of the Apple Cup.

Washington State Quarter Back Jeff Tuel is way better Quarter back than the last two quarter backs have played. Tuel is a pocket passer who will throw the odd interception with 15 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. He has thrown just under 2500 yards for the year. The question will be if the Huskies can get to Jeff Tuel. A interception during the game would be huge considering the Huskies have got points in 26 of 29 possessions.

We can't forget that Cal was starting their back up quarter back Brock Mansion for the injured Kevin Riley. If Riley starts the game is a blow out and Washington doesn't have a shot at a bowl. Jake Locker made some nice plays last Saturday. His Touchdown pass to D'Andre Goodwin in the third quarter to get the offense going was a fortunate play however, great players make great plays and that's what he expects from himself. Locker needs two more touchdowns to pass Cody Pickett for all time touchdowns as a Husky.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

When the Washington Huskies (4-6, 3-4) play the California Golden Bears (5-6, 3-5) today both coaches will have the same message to their respected teams. "Don't lose because one more loss would eliminate us from a bowl opportunity".

But for Washington the situation is a touch different than Cal's. Washington will have to win this week and next week against cross state rival Washington State. The Cougars are improving fast and would like nothing more than to beat their bitter rivals from the Emerald City.

For Cal, It's simple win and you're in lose and you go home. Head Coach of the Golden Bears Jeff Tedford saw his team get annihilated by Stanford last week at home 48-14. The loss was the first time Cal had been blown out at home all year. More importantly back up QB Brock Mansion showed an enormous amount of jitters last week as he fumbled the snap multiple times and threw two interceptions.

Washington is coming into the game full of confidence following its 24-7 victory last Thursday night. In that game Washington had one of the best defensive showings all year allowing UCLA to only 163 yards of total offense. If Washington wants to come away from Berkley with a win they must stop Shane Vereen and the California running game. Vereen is already a 1000 yard rusher for the season. If he rushes for 262 yards today he will have 3000 yards rushing for his career.

Cal has been in a bowl game every year since 2002. That streak is in some limbo. Washington feels that they have every right to think that this will be the year they will play in a bowl. The Huskies have some talented Seniors on Offense and Defense. On Offense they have Quarter Back Jake Locker. Locker has been spectacular in the Huskies wins however, he has played pretty poorly in the Husky losses. Mason Foster leads the Huskies on the defensive side of the ball. Mason Foster has the second most amount of tackles in thee nation. All of the Seniors are hoping that this won't be the last meaningful game of their college careers for them.

The Huskies and Bears met last year in Seattle. That night the Huskies snapped a five game losing skid on Senior night. Furthermore, it handed Cal a 42-10 defeat. California has not forgotten about that beat down last year and would like to return the favor. In addition, California would love to leave Memorial Stadium with a win as it will be going through renovations next year. The Golden Bears temporary new home will be AT&T Park where the San Fransisco Giants play baseball. The Golden Bears will return to their home for 2012.

When it is all said and done the Huskies won't be able to stop the running attack of Shane Vereen. Jake Locker will play well but not well enough. The final score will be 27-19 and Washington will go back to Seattle thinking what could of been.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Washington Huskies yesterday showed that they could play with almost any team in the nation as they fought hard but came up on the short end of the stick against #2 Michigan State in a 76-71 Bronze medal game. The Huskies, who built a 44-34 lead at halftime were not able to put the game away as missed free throws and empty possessions down the stretch proved to be the difference.

However, you half to feel optimistic as a Huskies fan for this season. This Maui Invitational was one of the most competitive tournaments of all time. Washington could of easily won all of their games this tournament . Also, Michigan State and Kentucky will be the two best teams the Huskies will play all year until March.

The bottom line in the game is that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo out Coached Lorenzo Romar. During the last few minutes of the game every sideline play Izzo drew up out of a timeout work to perfection, In contrast Romar's sideline plays were anything but perfection.

It is often said in big time games your best players have to be your best players and in the last two games for Washington that hasn't happened. Matthew Bryan Amaning missed key three throws down down the stretch. None more bigger when he went 1/2 from the charity stripe with 14 seconds to go in the game. Just brings me back to the Texas Tech game last year.

Sure the Huskies are right their. The Huskies didn't play the best they could of played but they only lost by five points. The problem with this Washington team is that they're in a very weak Pac 10 this year. The situation is very similar to last years situation. Last year the Huskies were 21-9 entering the Pac 10 tournament and had to win all three games just to get in to NCAA tournament and get a 11 seed. This is why every game this year will feel like a playoff game.

Kalian Lucas had a good game for Michigan St. and so did Durrell Summers. Draymond Green filled in admirably off the bench with 12 points.

The Huskies will now have five days to re-group and work on their offensive sets, rebounding and free throws before they take on Long Beach St. on Tuesday at 8pm.

Yesterday's Final:

Kemba Walker put Uconn on his shoulders last night as Uconn soared to 84-67 win over Brendon Kinght ad the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky was not able to over come a 50-29 deficit at halftime. With the win Uconn is a better team than most experts predicted. We will see if the hype will continue as they should get tested most nights when Big East play starts in January. For Kentucky, the Wildcats showed that their not as they were last year. We will see if Enes Kanter ever gets to play this year. If not this team I think a year away from being a great team.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Washington Huskies played a very emotional game tonight and came away with a 74-67 defeat to the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Huskies fans who were waiting for this game for a long time were looking for some justice with Kentucky fans for what happened over the off-season with the Terence Jones mess. The Huskies fans never got any. All they got was a bunch of horrible calls from to the refs.

The game started great for the Huskies. They forced turnovers on the first to defensive possessions and scored twice on first two offensive possessions and made John Calipari call a early timeout. Kentucky made the adjustments that were needed to make and before you could blink Washington was down 20-6. Then it was Washington's turn to re-group they calmed down and surprisingly had a 35-34 lead at halftime. In the second half both teams traded leads as the intense back in fourth game was getting more intriguing by the second. Kentucky slowly pulled away and Washington wasn't able to re group as they were in foul trouble all game and their bench players were not able to bring the team back.

Matthew Bryan Amaning and Isaiah Thomas both had pretty disappointing efforts in today's big game. You combine that with Terence Jones and Brandon Knight both having solid games for Kentucky and that equals a devastating loss. The refs were a bit inconsistent at times but they were the same refs for both teams.

In the other Semi Final it was Uconn upsetting #2 Michigan State. Uconn stayed with Michigan State until Kemba Walker took over the game with his team leading 30 points including the game wining shot with under a minuet to go.

Michigan State is the Huskies next opponent. The Spartans are one of the best coached teams in College Basketball by Coach Tom Izzo. Furthermore, the team returns four starters from last years final four team that lost to tournament runner-up Butler.

The Spartans best player is Kailan Lucas. He averages 17 points per game and has been a key contributor for Head Coach Tom Izzo. If the Huskies want to come home with a third place finish they have to do a better job rebounding as too many times Kentucky was able to get the Offensive rebound tonight.

My prediction is that Tom Izzo will get his kids up for the game and Lorenzo Romar's team will not be mentally prepared to play and the Spartans will slip past the Huskies 81-74. Look for Durrell Summers to have a big game for the Spartans as he has been quiet this Tournament with only 19 points total over the two games. The game will be an appox. 2pm tip off on ESPN2.

Tomorrow's Final:

Kentucky and Uconn has all the ingredients for this game to be a all time classic. Both teams are playing great basketball right now and Tomorrow's final should be no exception. Look for Uconn to make a upset bid but Kentucky will find away to win.

The Maui Invitational is off to a great start. On Monday we saw some great games including Wichita St. losing a heart breaker to Uconn and Michigan St. squeaked by host Chaminade.

Washington also defeated Virginia tonight by a final score of 106-63. It was a very good shooting clinic from the whole team as the Huskies shot 17-26 from the field from 3-point range as a team. However, the game tonight should not be over hyped. Virginia is underachieving just a bit to start the year. Kentucky will be a ligament team that should give Washington a headache on the offensive end as well on the defensive end. These two teams also have a little bit of a rivalry going on.

The Kentucky - Washington rivalry was not born on the court like most rivalries or it was not even born during the regular season. It was born on April 30th 2010. A day I will flash you back to.

Friday, April 30th, 2010. The Texas Rangers were in town for a three game weekend series at Safeco Field. Starting Pitcher Cliff Lee was going to make his Mariners debut that night and I was very excited. The Mariners had played 500. ball for the first part of the season but so had the rest of the AL West. As a true Seattle sports fan I had my Mariners Jersey that day. During last the last block of the day I was not thinking of school work. I was thinking of Cliff Lee. I knew he was a great pitcher and I thought he could take us to the World Series.

The day got even better when I went on the computer after school. Washington had just signed two highly scouted recruits. Terrance Ross and Terrance Jones had signed a letter of intent to go to Washington. Immediately I knew that this team had turned into a Final Four type team. With Cliff Lee going for the Mariners this could turn out to be a really awesome day.

The day however did not end well. Cliff Lee pitched 7 brilliant innings. His counter part that day was C.J. Wilson who also pitched extremely well matched zeros with him the hole night. The Rangers ended up wining that game 2-0 in 12 innings. The Mariners season started to go down the drain and so did the idea of having Terence Ross and Terence Jones on the same team was as well.

The Mariners season ended in a failure and so did the Jones-Ross saga, Mid way through June Terence Jones changed his mind and signed with Kentucky.

Now, four months later, Washington gets a shot at redemption. A Huskies victory over a youthful yet very talented Kentucky team would put the team at a national stage. Every team wants to beat Kentuky but for Lorenzo Romar and the Washington Huskies it would be even more special.

The Huskies will have to play a pretty solid game to beat the Kentucky. An 106-63 win over a less then impressive Virginia team may look good. However, Kentucky is at a way higher level then Virginia and the turnover numbers have to be lower as Washington committed nine turnovers today. That is a number that has to be a touch lower if Washington wants to pull off the slight upset.

In the end it will be Kentucky that will come away with the nail biting victory 78-73 in overtime. Washington has had a lot of heart breaking loses over the past five years and this one will be no exception. Brandon Knight will have a big game and so will Terence Jones who had 29 points and 13 rebounds. Jones will have the dagger in Overtime. I also have a feeling the refs will not be on our side as well. The game tips off at appox. 6:30 Pacific time and can be seen on ESPN2.

Other Notes.

Uconn beat Wichita St. 83-79
I was still at school didn't watch this game.

Kentucky defeated Oklahoma 76-64
Kentucky was way too strong for Oklahoma. Whenever Oklahoma made it close Kentucky would go on a run to widen the lead. Brandon Knight and Terence Jones provided a good one-two punch.

Michigan St. beat Chaminade 82-74
For a while Michigan State was on upset alert. But Chaminade didn't have the depth to compete and the Spartans slowly pulled away late in the second half.

Today's Games.

Chaminade against Wichita St. 11am tip
I think it will be hard for Chaminade to get up for this game after being so close to the upset tonight. Wichita St. by about 10.

Oklahoma against Virginia appox. 1:30 tip
What team is worse? I think Oklahoma will be full of confidence from staying within 12 points. Tony Bennett will have a hard time getting his players ready after giving up 106 points. Oklahoma by 15.

Michigan St. against Uconn appox. 4pm tip
We will see if Michigan State had a bad game or if they're not playing good basketball right now. Uconn will give them a run for their money but the Spartans will prevail. It will be closer then the experts think.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Tomorrow the Washington Huskies men's basketball team will play their first game at the 2010 Maui Invitational. The opponent waiting for them is the Virginia Cavilers. The Huskies will face a familiar face in Tony Bennett. Bennett was the coach of Washington's cross state rival Washington State Cougars from 2006-2009.

Tony Bennett had a record of 5-2 as the Washington St. coach versus Washington. In fact when Washington swept the Cougars in 2008 that stopped a five game losing streak versus Bennett and Washington St.

Virginia should be the first real test for Matthew Bryan Amanning and the Washington Huskies. Virginia is 2-1 and in the middle of a six game road trip. The road trip started in Stanford on Friday night when the Cardinal beat up on the Cavilers 81-60.

Virginia and Washington have only played one time. That meeting came in 1983 when the Cavilers squeaked by the Huskies 65-61. Washington will try to return the favor tomorrow.

Washington during their first two games have had no problem scoring and rebounding. That could change versus Virginia as the Cavilers are very big with their best player being Forward Mike Scott. Scott is listed at 6-8 and is averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. However, this will be a challenge I think Amaning can handle.

Washington is by far the more athletic team. Virginia will try their very not to make the game into a track meet. What should Washington do? Try to make the game into a track meet. Virginia does not have the athletes that Washington does. The more Wore down the Cavaliers get the more times Bennett has to use his less than stellar bench. My prediction is a well deserved 84-71 win in a game Washington will play as a team and deal with a little bit of adversity. The game is a appox. 9pm Seattle time tip-off and can be seen on ESPN2.

Other Notes:
Wichita St. versus Uconn 12pm tip

If there is going to be a upset on Day one this will be the game. Wichita St. made some noise in the tournament and play Uconn. Uconn is not as strong as it has been in past years. Wichita St. is a team I believe should have made the NCAA tournament last year. They started 11-1 last year with their only loss to Pitt.

Michigan State versus Chaminade 6:30pm tip

If Chaminade pulls of the upset it will be a bigger upset then when Appalachian State beat Michigan in football a few years ago.

Oklahoma versus Kentucky appox. 2:30pm tip

Kentucky has loaded up on young talented Freshman yet again. The only way Oklahoma pulls off the upset is if Oklahoma uses experience to their advantage. I don't see that happening. Kentucky wins big.

Monday, November 15, 2010

When you think of Eastern Washington you might think of Football and their red turf. But when the Washington Huskies and the Eastern Washington Eagles renew their in-state rivalry tomorrow at Hec. Ed. they will be playing basketball and it won't be on red turf.

This will be the Huskies last tune up before heading to the tropical island of Maui, where they will take part in the Maui Invitational. The key for the Huskies will be trying to get their best players being their best players. This includes having Matthew Bryan Amaning rebounding, Vernoy Overton playing good defense and Isaiah Thomas scoring at a consistent rate. All of these things will have to be present in Maui if the Huskies plan to make some noise next week.

The Eagles are out of the Big Sky conference which only received only one NCAA tournament bid last year, which went to the Montana Grizzlies who gave the Dawgs a run for their money for the whole game. Washington did end up wining the game 63-59.

Eastern Washington only won nine games last year, which was three less from two years ago. The team should be fired up playing a team that is picked by some to go far in the NCAA tournament. Eastern Washington hasn't had a wining season since 2007.

During the past meetings versus Eastern Washington, The Huskies have done a great job winning all of the games since December 2002. That Huskies team was very inexperienced. The likes of Nate Robinson and Bobby Jones were bench players.

However, having lack of experience should not be a factor tomorrow night. The Huskies almost have the same game plan as they did last year which was run. Last year the Huskies were most dangerous when they ran up and down the floor. The Huskies will be able to have an advantage every game to just run the opponent out of the gym. This will be vital in the Maui as they will have the least amount of travel of every team except for the host. So making their opponents run will be a great way to ware down the opposing teams they play next week.

Okay, I know I look like an idiot by giving you the keys to next weeks big tournament but the reality of tomorrows game is it's a tune up game for The Maui Invitational because if the Huskies goof around tomorrow you can expect the Huskies will not accomplish their goals next week. The game will be a high scoring game with the final score being 96-71 Huskies.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Washington Huskies basketball team start their season today versus McNeese St with high expectations. This is Lorenzo Romar's ninth year of coaching the Huskies and he has every reason to believe that this will be be the year that Washington could make it to the elite eight.

The Huskies return nine players from a explosive team last year that had a great end to the season after wining the Pac 10 tournament as a #3 seed and advancing to the Sweet 16 as a 11 seed for the third time since 2005.

The Huskies also return four out of the five starters from last year. The only person missing from the starters last year was Quincy Pondexter. Pondexter had a up and down year last year however, he did average 19.3 points per game last year.

To make up that crucial 19 points, Romar went out and signed three top recruits including Jefferson High School star Terrence Ross. Ross will help make up the scoring with his outstanding three point shot. . We also can't forget Sophomore Aziz N' Diaye. He ran a mile in five minuets and that will sure help the teams transition game that Romar loves to play.

Rebounding will be another key. Since the Graduation of John Brockman the Huskies haven't found that go to guys to get the rebounds. Lets hope that Aziz N' Diaye will help rebounding this year.

C.J. Wilcox is coming off a red shirt season. Wilcox is a 6-5 Guard. He should be a good rebounder and knock down the timely shot. Give him four years and he could be a major contributor in his Senior year.

The Huskies season ended last year when the West Virgina Mountaineers beat us 69-56. I just finished watching that game and from what I saw during that game this could be a good year. Which is not what I thought before I watched the game. If you can recall Pondexter was in foul trouble the hole game, yet they were leading at half 29-27. Furthermore, Washington was turning the ball over lots and taking bad shots at the wrong time. Could this be the year?

This is not the answer that most Husky fans want to hear. No. The Huskies will play in another weak Pac 10. Therefore the Dawgs will have to have a really impressive conference record to be a #1, #2 or #3 seed. To get a top 3 seed they will have to run the table like the 2008 Memphis Tigers team did in the C-USA. Which means they will be at least a #4 seed which would see them playing a number 1 seed in the Sweet 16. The Huskies were 11-7 in the youthful Pac 10 last year. A 21-9 record and a Pac 10 tournament title got them a 11 seed. So would a 13-5 record and a Pac 10 tournament title mean a 9 seed. All this means is playing the #1 seed a round early. So my answer is no. The Huskies will not make it to the Elite eight.

One thing that is on the Huskies side is their non conference schedule. The Huskies will travel to Maui for the Maui Invitational. This will mark the first time ever the Huskies will take place in the Maui Imvatational. The Field of eight teams could be the best ever with the likes of Mich. St., Kentucky, Uconn and Witchita St.

In the end the Huskies will look at this season as a productive season. They will be runners up in the Pac 10 Regular season next to UCLA, Semi Finalists in the Pac 10 tournament, a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a heartbreaking loss in the second round. Though the Huskies will consider this a good season.

Just one other note about Huskies Basketball. The Huskies have already signed four high school players to their team next year Including Tony Wroten Jr. None of them are planning to pull a Terrence Jones who signed with Kentucky who said he would go to UW. By the way T.J. finished with 25 points and 12 assists for the Wildcats who won their game today 88-65 over ETSU.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

When I heard the news of Dave Niehaus's death I was shocked. It was about 5:45pm. My Mom had just picked me up from football practice and she needed some Lettuce for Dinner. When she was about to leave I politely asked my Mom to turn the radio on. I had known nothing yet.

The Radio was tuned into 1040. The Vancouver B.C. station. The Vancouver Canucks were off yesterday so I wanted to hear what they were talking about on 950 KJR. I assumed they would be talking about Huskies Basketball/football or Seahawks, never in my wild imagination I would hear what I hared.

The radio station was playing the Double in 1995. Since it was November my first reaction was he retired. I quickly got out my cell phone and phoned my dad. to ask him if he retired. He had no idea what I was talking about. However, it was much worse. Dave Niehaus had passed away at the age of 75 due to a heart attack in his home. I was Devastated.

Dave has meant a lot to me. I am a high school student living in a city one hour east of Vancouver, Canada and fell in love with the Mariners when I was in Elementary school being a M's fan in Canada is hard. Unlike the fans in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. Canadian television does not get the amazing channel FSN NW. I have a channel in Canada called Sports Net Pacific. It gets about 50 games a year. Add that to the nine Blue Jay games I will get, About three White-sox games I will get, five on FOX on Saturday I enjoy and three or four random games on through out the year; I watch just under half of the Mariner games per year. So Dave Niehaus and my radio meant a lot to me because he was my source for finding out how they did day after day. Especially when I was young and my bed time was in the middle innings he gave the the play by play when I was in bed since he was on the radio from the fourth inning on.

I know how it feels to be a Mariners fan. I know when are Division Titles were, the years we went to the ALCS and how many numbers are retired at Safeco Field. I'm going to flash you back to another sad day in Mariners history. It was Saturday October 2nd 2004. The Texas Rangers were in town and at the park that night was Edgar Marinez ceremony night. Furthermore, Ichiro had just broken the single season mark for hits in a season. The best thing of all was I would be in attendance. The game wasn't a great game at all, Rangers won 10-4 but we saw a Ichiro ceremony before the game and Edgar's ceremony after. I remember Bug Selig being at the game fans booing him, After the game my family went down to the 100 level to get better seats for the farewell to Edgar. I remember Niehaus talking about the Mariners were the only team he played for, the Double and lastly that he would have a street named after him. So that is my Niehaus story and I will never forget it.

But Nieuhas was not just a broadcaster. He was a Seattle Icon every which way you look at it. He new the game his Vocabulary was extraordinary, but their was one thing that stood out to me the most. He was a Mariners fan. When the team was doing well he was excited. On the other hand if the team was playing bad he would tell you about. I can't stand those broadcasters like Hawk an DJ for the White-soxs saying stuff like "he gone" or "the good guys are winning." I can't stand that. The make it seem that the White-sox are the best team ever. But Dave Nieuhas wasn't that kind of broadcaster and considering he never wanted to take days off I think he is one of the best broadcasters on Earth. He is on the Same list as Joe Buck, Brent Musburger and Vince Scully.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Washington Huskies were looking to continue the surprising trend this year of the #1 team getting upset For a quarter and a half what was thought to be a miracle was turning into a reality as they had forced a turnover on a fumble and also on downs. However, when the Oregon offence woke up their was no looking back as it was becoming obvious that the Ducks were on route to a 53-16 win.

For the Huskies to have pulled off the upset today the Dawgs would of had to play a perfect game. And yet it was a much improved game from last Saturday, their is still plenty of room for improvement. Numerous times during the game the Huskies wide receivers dropped balls with some of them would of led to a first down. Also, the Huskies had a horrible 3rd down conversion rate of 2-16. When you are trying to upset a superior team like Oregon that stat has to be more 10-16. Lastly we needed to be way more discipline to win this game as the Huskies had 12 penalty's for a total of 84 yards. That stat is also unacceptable as the number of penalty's must be in the single digits.

There were some positives that came from the game on Saturday. Keith Price looked very calm in the pocket, he made good decisions through out the game and his numbers showed that as he finished with 14/28 127 yards 1 TD and no INT's. He did not turn the ball over shows his composer and will help him hopefully help him through out the four years he wears the purple and gold.

Oregon is now 9-0 for the first time in school history. The football crazy fans in Eugene are counting down the days till the BCS National Championship game. The Ducks control their own destiny which means if they win out they will most likely be in that game. My thought is that they will go undefeated and beat whoever opposes them in the Title game.

The big reason why Oregon wore Washington down today was because of the Oregon's deadly running game. LaMichel James had another great game with 26 carries for 121 yards and three TD's. He is in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy. He used strength and speed to power his way to a great day.

If you are a Huskies you have to feel optimistic. I am a very optimistic person who believes on November 6th 2010 the Husky football program will change forever. I believe that Coach Sark is the coach to bring us to a bowl game. We have a bye week to recharge are batteries. Lets finish at least 5-7 this year. Build some momentum in the first two games next year. Fight hard versus Nebraska, beat Cal in Pac 12 opener then on October 1st 2011 we go into Utah and beat them in a classic game because of Keith Price getting the experience in Saturday's game. The Dawgs will be 4-1. I have a feeling! Call me stupid but I have a special feeling that the Huskies program is turning around.

So the Huskies will have a dozen days to prepare for Senior night. It will be a very emotional day for the Seniors who when the signed their letter of intent four years ago thought they had a good chance to get to a bowl game. Well its still possible but its unlikely the Seniors will want to play one of their best games of their carer to try to get to 4-6 and keep their bowl hopes alive. The game is a Special Thursday night game at 5pm on ESPN.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Huskies today will face one of the best teams in College football when they travel down to Eugene for a tilt versus the #1 ranked Ducks of Oregon.

For Husky fans traveling to Eugene has been a nightmare the past five years including their last trip in their season opener in 2008. It was August 30th and Husky fans had high hopes for their team after a 4-8 2007 team which showed a great offence and a struggling defence. The Huskies got off to a very sluggish start and after the first quarter we were trailing 14-0. The second quarter saw the Huskies creep closer to the energetic ducks but a disaster of a second half saw the Ducks run away with a 44-10 victory.

However, a 44-10 loss today and the majority of the Huskies fans would be pretty satisfied considering the terrible performance last Saturday. Washington was defeated 41-0 to the Cardinal of Stanford, a team that Washington thought they had a chance to compete with at the start of the year.

To put this into perspective. I can't recall a huskies game that I thought we were going to get destroyed by so much. Chip Kelly and his Oregon Ducks team might have one of the best offences in College football history scoring at a pace of just under a point per minuet. Which is best in the country this year.

Thus, the scariest thing of the game today I have not touched on yet. Jake Locker, who has been battling a hip problem maybe all year and will not start in today's rivalry game. Instead, it will be true Freshman Keith Price. Keith Price has been in a few of the games this year, most noticeable would be the USC game where he found Chris Izbick for a 1 yard touchdown catch. Price has a QB rating of 126.7 but those numbers are misleading as he is only thrown nine passes but he has completed five of them. After today's game we will have a good understanding of where he will stand for next year. The reason for not starting Nick Montana is if he sees no game action this year he can still be a Freshman next year.

This game will also mark the first game my buddy Boseko Lokombo plays versus my favorite team. Bo was a grade 12 student when I was in grade 10. He decided to sign his letter of intent with Oregon. Other schools who were in the mix were: WSU, Cal, Boise State an LSU.

My key for the Washington Huskies today is to believe. I believe that anything is possible. The Husky players have to as well. Your not going to win anytime in College Football if you think your going to lose. I believe.

The spread in today's game is an enormous 35 points. That is a spread that you don't see everyday in Pac 10 play. The Huskies haven't done so well against the spread this year going 2-6. My prediction for the game is the Huskies will be feeling the pain a number of times and will end up losing 65-7.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Washington Huskies just got destroyed on Saturday losing 41-0 to Stanford on Saturday. The Huskies were not prepared to play as it was most of the time a positive play for Stanford and a negative play for the Huskies.

Was that their Junior Varsity team out there? That's what you would think if you went on the computer to ESPN after the game and looked up the score you would think Stanford was playing the Huskies Junior Varsity team because honestly the Dawgs were that bad.

However, I will say one positive the false start on the Huskies first drive took all the energy out of the stadium. The Huskies were moving the ball at a good pace controlling the clock when they got called for a False Start. Instead of it being a 3rd an1 it was a 3rd and 6. The Huskies did not convert and had to punt and after the Cardinal went up 7-0 the game seemed over.

The Huskies are now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in Pac 10 play. If Washington wants to make a bowl game they will have to win three out of their last four games. Considering the fact that we play Oregon next week, we might half to win are last three games which will include: Senior Night versus UCLA, @ Cal and the Apple Cup to finish off the year.

Lets be honest, going to a bowl game seems so far away after one would think after the worst home loss in Husky history. You have to go back to 1976 for the last time the Huskies got shut out at home. That day we played the California Golden Bears.

After the loss it seems that everyone is starting to put blame on Coach Sark. That shouldn't be the case. Stanford is a very under rated football team that I believe will end if in the Rose Bowl because Oregon will run the table and play for the title. I have said this all year Husky fans stay with your team and we will bee a national team soon.

If I am Coach Sark this is what I say to the media: " That wasn't Husky football. Husky football is competitive and we weren't today. You will never see this team play like this as long as I am the Coach, You will never see so many fans leave their seats in the second quarter like you did today as long as I'm the coach, you will never see someone work its coaching staff as hard as I will work my assistants and you will never see a coach push his players as hard as I will push them. God Bless"

Next week the Huskies head to Eugene to take on the #1 ranked Ducks of Oregon. This is a tough week for me because everyone in my school likes Oregon because of the great Boseko Lokombo. Furthermore, my friends know I like Washington so they rub it in because they think they have the best team ever. The game will be on ABC at 12:30pm.